How easy it is for us to hold grudges! Today, Jesus faces the Pharisees and scribes who cannot seem to accept the ministry that began with St. John the Baptist and continues with Christ, the ministry of reconciliation (2 Corinthians 5:17-21). The tax collectors and prostitutes found forgiveness from God in the repentance preached by John. They found welcome from Christ in his ministry to the sick and the outcast. The Pharisees and scribes, however, simply could not look beyond these people’s past sins. The Pharisees and scribes were trapped by their own sense of holiness.

In the past two weeks, Jesus has made it very clear to us that the generosity of God knows no limits. He is infinitely forgiving, and his gifts are for those to whom he wishes to give them, despite past sins. God wants to love us. How often we refuse to experience the love of God ourselves because we do not want him to love others!

Part of this grudge may come from the fact that we think it is much too easy for sinners to repent. Somehow, we feel their punishment should be harder, more severe. When I experience the sacrament of reconciliation, when I celebrate it as a priest hearing another’s confession and as a sinner offering my own confession, I am often surprised at how easy it is to find forgiveness from God. If we feel that another should be punished more severely for their sins, I wonder if we have not forgotten how easy it was to find forgiveness for our own sins.

When we see someone else who has sinned repent and seek forgiveness, are we able to welcome that person back in to the family of Christ?

Do we remember how easy it is for us to find forgiveness so that we can be more generous with others who have sinned?